Herman Cain on Social Security

Phase out of system with personal retirement plans at age 40

Q: Can you be specific regarding ages and income levels? What is your specific Social Security reform plan?

CAIN: Let's restructure Social Security. I support a personal retirement account option in order to phase out the current system.
We know that this works. It worked in the small country of Chile when they did it 30 years. I believe we can do the same thing.

Q: Are you going to raise the retirement age as president?

CAIN: I don't have to raise the retirement age, because that b
itself isn't going to solve the problem. If Congress decides to do that, that's a different matter. Let me give you one another example where this approach has worked. The city of Galveston, they opted out of the Social Security system way back in
the '70s. And now, they retire with a whole lot more money. Why? For a real simple reason--they have an account with their money on it. We've got to restructure the program using a personal retirement account option in order to eventually make it solvent

Modernize entitlements; nothing should be off the table

Though it might not be politically popular to modernize and eliminate some of our entitlement programs, responsible leaders should be willing to do it all the same. They must be prepared to make tough choices and learn to simply say "no." This can only
happen when our elected officials stop being politicians and start being leaders.

Nothing should be off the table. Every federal agency and expenditure must be reviewed with a keen eye and a red pen. Leaders should be willing to shrink budgets by targe
percentages, and those charged with implementing those changes must be held accountable.

And it works! I have served as an executive of several major corporations. When times were tough and money was tight, I asked our employees to cut back drastically
and explained why it was necessary, and they did. We have all had to make difficult decisions in our own household or work place. Serious but responsible belt tightening can save businesses, and it can also save our country with the right leadership.

Source: Campaign website, www.hermancain.com/ "Issues"
May 21, 2011

Government was never intended to be in retirement business

One change by Congress in the 1980s was legislation to gradually increase the retirement age for full Social Security benefits. Like most people in their 40s, I was not paying attention to a law that would affect me
20 years later, and would cause my retirement benefits to start at age 66 instead of 65. And for those born after 1960, your retirement age for full benefits is now 67, and it does not stop there as more and more baby boomers file for benefits.

The federal government was never intended to be in the business of encouraging one behavior over another, or favoring one group of people over another. This goes beyond providing assistance to the needy.
And government was never intended to be in the business of taking people's money for a retirement system, and then increasing the retirement age as the money starts to run out.

Divert forced payroll tax to personal retirement accounts

If members of Congress are serious about preserving the Social Security program without needlessly increasing payroll taxes or reducing benefits, they must immediately take the following three steps

Stop denying Social Security faces a solvency
crisis. To deny the solvency crisis is literally akin to denying that the sun rises in the east.

End the raid on the surplus and pass the DeMint amendment.

Pass HR 1776, "The Ryan-Sununu Social Security Personal Savings Guarantee and Prosperity
Act." HR 1776 would allow workers to divert a portion of their forced payroll tax contributions to a personal retirement account they own and control. In 75 years the entire system would be solvent, without having to reduce benefits or raise taxes.

The need for "new batteries" to fix our dysfunctional Social Security system is painfully obvious. But first we must have new members of Congress who have the integrity to be honest with the public and the courage to lead.